The first all-civilian crew space mission is set to launch as Inspiration4. SPEXcast sits down to discuss the importance of this mission in the context of American space flight, commercial space flight, and private space flight. We discuss

82: NASA Selects SpaceX for HLS

Apr 27th, 2021 1h 9m

After 10 months of exploratory work, NASA has selected SpaceX's Starship to return humans to the Moon. We analyze NASA's announcement and break down NASA's own Source Selection Document to understand how Blue Origin and Dynetics stacked up

81: The ISS gets new wings

Feb 5th, 2021 54m 33s

23 years after the first module of the International Space Station was launched into space, the station is getting another major upgrade! On January 11th, NASA announced 6 new advanced solar panels will be installed on the ISS starting lat

80: Rethinking Aerospace Design Tools with nTopology

Nov 18th, 2020 1h 4m

On this episode, nTopology CEO Brad Rothenberg walks us through how generative design techniques and new engineering tools are changing the way we design spacecraft.

79: Talking Starlink and Fiber Internet with Stealth Communications

Oct 26th, 2020 54m 47s

SpaceX's Starlink constellation claims to serve low-latency, high-bandwidth internet access to anyone in the United States with a Starlink base station. In New York, another company has a head start connecting businesses with high-speed in

78: Virgin Orbit's Will Pomerantz

Jul 28th, 2020 38m 31s

This week on SPEXcast, Vice President of Special Projects & Brand at Virgin Orbit, Will Pomerantz, talks about the origins of Virgin Orbit, mentorship, and diversity in today's aerospace industry. You can check out additional links and ref

77: SpaceX Starship SN4 explosion

Jul 21st, 2020 23m 45s

This week on SPEXcast, we discuss SpaceX's historic Demonstration Mission 2 for NASA as part of the Commercial Crew Program. We dive into how this mission will change NASA going forward, as well as the challenges and achievements SpaceX wo

76: SpaceX DM-2 and the Impact of Commercial Crew

Jun 1st, 2020 59m 3s

75: SPHEREx with Dr. Michael Zemcov

May 20th, 2020 54m 17s

This week on SPEXcast, we discuss the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer (or SPHEREx). It is a two year science mission designed to survey the cosmos in 96 color bands, mapping the

74: NASA Human Landing System Selection

May 13th, 2020 1h 13m

This week on SPEXcast, we discuss NASA's announcement of Human Landing System contracts for three companies: Blue Origin, SpaceX, and Dynetics. We dive into the details behind NASA's decision, breaking down each proposal by technial merit,

73: Can the Space Industry survive Coronavirus?

Apr 16th, 2020 1h 8m

This week on SPEXcast, we analyze the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the space industry. OneWeb files for bankruptcy, Bigelow Aerospace fires all employees, and small launcher startups face an uncertain future.

72: 2019 Recap and Looking Forward to 2020 in Space

Mar 17th, 2020 1h 25m

This week on SPEXcast, we kickoff the year by recapping 2019 in space. Faris joins the team as an episode regular, and we also discuss what we anticipate will be the biggest stories and missions of 2020.

71: In-Space Refueling with Orbit Fab's James Bultitude

Nov 20th, 2019 1h 7m

This week on SPEXcast we sit down with James Bultitude, Lead Engineer at Orbit Fab. Orbit Fab aims to build 'gas stations' in space, allowing spacecraft to refuel when they would otherwise be discarded. He talks through the challenges of i

70: SpaceX Starlink Takes Flight

Sep 24th, 2019 59m 57s

This week on SPEXcast we recap Space'x first operational Starlink launch. SpaceX plans to build and launch thousands of Low Earrth Orbit satellites to provide satellite internet around the world. We break down the unique design considerati

69: Improving the Spaceport America Cup for 2019

Jul 18th, 2019 1h 7m

The Spaceport America Cup provides students from around the world a safe opportunity to practice the art of high-powered rocketry. University teams descend to the New Mexico desert for the week to present their technical achievements and b

68: Space Policy with SpacePolicyOnline.com's Marcia Smith

Jul 18th, 2019 1h

Whether it be NASA directives, FCC regulations or military operations in space, there's no doubt that policy has a significant impact on industry at every turn Today on SPEXcast we will take a closer look at space policy with Marcia Smith,

67: NASA's AWEsome Atmospheric Waves Experiment and DALI Awards

May 9th, 2019 41m 49s

This week on SPEXcast we dive into the scientific instruments that drive new discoveries. NASA’s Development and Advancement of Lunar Instrumentation (DALI) selected 5 finalist projects for continued development. From neutron generators th

66: Robotic Exploration with SpaceIL and Hayabusa2

Apr 1st, 2019 46m 22s

This week on SPEXcast, we dive into the exciting advancements and discoveries robotic science vehicles are making across the solar system. SpaceIL launched the first commercial lunar lander on a SpaceX Falcon 9. Also JAXA’s Hayabusa2 lande

65: Commercial Crew Takes Flight to LEO and Beyond

Feb 28th, 2019 46m 56s

This week on SPEXcast, we dive into NASA's manned spaceflight initatives. Commercial Crew is finally flying, albeit uncrewed. NASA also announced its follow up to the Commercial Crew development program with NextSTEP-2, a proposal to build

64: SpaceX Raptor Breathes Fire and Virgin Galactic Takes Flight

Feb 14th, 2019 47m 32s

This week on SPEXcast, we kick of 2019 with some of the biggest space stories of the year, so far. SpaceX has radically redesigned their BFR/ITS Mars rocket into the gleaming Starship and Super Heavy. Virgin Galactic reached space for the

63: Student Innovation at Spaceport America Cup 2018

Sep 13th, 2018 2h 11m

On June 19th, 2018 SPEXcast headed down to Las Cruces, New Mexico for the Spaceport America Cup. We were able to speak with the organizers of the event, student teams, and key space industry figures. This episode is part one of three, cove

62: On-Demand Satellite Constellations with York Space Systems' Charles Beames

Aug 8th, 2018 31m 59s

This week on SPEXcast, we sit down with Charles Beames, CSO of York Space Systems, a New Space startup that provides full service satellite development and operations to companies seeking to utilize the space environemnt. We discuss th

61: Unlocking the Potential of Synthetic Aperture Radar with ICEYE's Pekka Laurila

Jun 22nd, 2018 38m 11s

This week on SPEXcast, we sit down with Pekka Laurila, Co-Founder of ICEYE, a New Space startup trying to revolutionize the business of space-based, synthetic aperture radar imagery. We talk about the challenges of building microsatellite

60: SpaceX Flight Control, CRS-15 Payloads, and Chinese Lunar Missions

Jun 16th, 2018 55m 33s

This week on SPEXcast, we dive into the recent announcements by SpaceX on their new launch complex, the exciting new research and technology demonstrations on NASA's CRS-15 mission to the International Space Station, and some of the unique

59: Copenhagen Suborbitals with Mads Wilson

Jun 4th, 2018 51m 5s

This week on SPEXcast, we sit down with Mads Wilson, communications lead for Copenhagen Suborbitals, a volunteer space program based in Denmark with the ambitious goal of launching a human into orbit. We delve into the history of CopSub wi